Halloween Brain Cake

5 Ingredient Halloween Brain Cake:

Halloween is around the corner and this Halloween Brain Cake is perfect for all the procrastinators out there who want something cool but are really cut for time. I love baking from scratch but there’s no shame for me when it comes to “cake mix quickies”. They are literally there to make life easier so why not? Halloween is creeping up, I’ve still got two big pumpkins to carve, Sydney-Paige’s Halloween costume needs some zombie makeup to match, pumpkin seeds need to be roasted, last years Halloween monster grew legs and walked away so we need to get more decorations. Time is literally of the essence and this quick cake made my long list much less daunting. Full disclosure though, I don’t know if I have the stomach to actually eat this cake, but let’s dig in.

I made a chocolate cake with marshmallow fondant, caramel flavoured icing and raspberry jam as the blood. Quick and simple. Depending on the type of cake mix you buy, it usually requires you to add some butter, eggs and milk. So make sure you’ve got the basics in your fridge. Remember to preheat your oven to 180 degrees too.

Marshmallow Fondant:

For the fondant I chose to make marshmallow fondant (microwave version) I used the same recipe for this Snapchat Ghost Cake I made earlier this week. I don’t know about you, but I love the look of fondant but I don’t necessarily enjoy the taste of it, but when I came across this marshmallow fondant recipe I swore never to force myself to endure unpleasant fondant ever again. Here’s what you’ll need for the fondant:

Ingredients:

2 tbs Shortening or butter

1 Cup of Marshmallows

1 ½ tsp water

¼ tsp corn syrup

2-3 drops flavouring (if desired)

1 cup powdered sugar

(Note: I doubled this recipe for the brain cake)

Start by greasing your microwavable bowl with butter or shortening, add your marshmallows, sprinkle over water, corn syrup and flavouring. Give it a quick mix and microwave for 25-45 seconds. Marshmallows should puff up and start melting.

Pour powdered sugar into bowl and mix with a rubber spatula (greased) until fondant comes together. Grease your hands well, pick up fondant and start to knead it. If fondant is sticky add more powdered sugar. Knead until smooth.

Tip: the marshmallow fondant dries fairly quickly so make it closer to the time you’ll need to use it or alternatively cling wrap it and refrigerate.

Simple Syrup:

I made a simple syrup which really helps keep your cake nice and moist, if you’re unsure, simply syrup is equal parts water to equal parts sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. I made 1 cup of water and sugar for this cake. I did not end up using it all though, be careful not to over syrup your cake too.

Brain Blood: (aka: Raspberry Jam)

You can use strawberry or raspberry jam, I opted for raspberry jam as per Sydney-Paige’s request. I then heated mine through a little in the microwave for about 40-45 seconds to get that syrup kind of consistency, but you still want it to be thick and lumpy, think blood clots (things I thought I’d never discuss) so don’t heat your jam too much. I also added a few drops of red colouring which gave it more “blood-like” vibrancy.

Brain Icing:

I made the Caramel flavoured icing grey because my mom mentioned, when I told her I’m making a brain cake, that she actually pictured a grey brain and I don’t know, it just felt spot on and appropriate in the spooky spirit of Halloweeness. (Even though it ended up making absolutely no difference because of all the blood that covered the cake haha, but hey! Brains are grey!) Moral of the story, your icing can literally be any colour you choose.

Be sure to chill your cake before adding your fondant. There’s no pattern here I just used a picture of a brain as a reference. Only pointer I’d give is to make sure the right and left sides are clearly identifiable as separate parts.

Once you’re ready to apply your jammy blood be sure to allow your jam to cool off slightly before applying it to your fondant. Then refrigerate your cake again.

5 ingredient brain food done and dusted:

There you have it guys. Hope this grossed you out as much as it grossed me out. Good luck finding the strength to eat it. Wishing all my readers a spooky Halloween weekend filled with lots of tricks, treats, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice and everything nice.

Why don’t you try this recipe and post your pictures on Twitter and Facebook with the #HouseAdon hashtag and I’ll share/ retweet some of your awesome posts. Please also be sure to post your absolute favourite selfie on Instagram with the #HouseAdonFlamingo hashtag (because all my readers are exotic, flamboyant birds) and I’ll post your awesome selfies on the House Adon website Gallery for the world to enjoy, because you should never keep your awesomeness to yourself. I’m also dying to know if you found this recipe easy? What interesting changes did you make to the recipe to make it even more awesome? Drop a comment and let me know.

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ABOUT ME

Hello, my name is Méhgan, I'm a South African Blogger living in Western Australia and I post everything that I love from nifty DIYs, yummy cakes and treats, to thought provoking blog entries. Learn with me, love with me, grow with me. House Adon is truly a happy place!